When you're strange
by MonsterBasher
Summary: <html><head></head>Just a collection of some of my old BLOSC oneshots.  All of them will involve Savy Sl-2 and/or Nos-4-A2 in some way, as they are my favorite characters...with a little bit of Ty Parsec if I get the guts to post more.  Warning, could be some OOCness!</html>
1. Last fire will rise

Soooo, this is my first venture into actually posting something in this category. Haha, I'll admit I'm a little nervous about it. Most of this stuff is over a year old, though I hope to get the urge to do more soon, and I thought...well, I have this stuff laying around, why _not_ share it? Admittedly, the stuff in here is crappy and potentially OOC..but hey, that's what CC is for, right? Pretty much everything will feature Savy Sl-2 and/or Nos-4-a2 in some way. I just love both of them so much. ;-; and Ty, although I'm even less confident in my ability to write with him. ANYWAY, I'll try to wrap this annoying a/n up. I don't own anything, as you all very well know.

This first oneshot is set pretty much directly after the Slayer. I realize they probably would not have left his body down there, but.. I'm going to forgo logic and assume they did anyway, and there's nothing you can do about it! Mwuah! (I do however apologize for the weird way in which I wrote this, including how many times you have to see the word 'He'.)

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><p><em>Time to power down Nos-4-a2; permanently!<em>

He remembered...feeding. He remembered Buzz Lightyear. He remembered Xr, beside him now. And he remembered an annoying little girl.

A girl that was standing over the ship, staring down at him.

A girl that was driving something into his randometer.

A girl that broke through straight into his power grid.

He became aware of an intense pain ripping through his chest. He could feel a blunt object smashing through the first layer of alloy, bursting through his randometer; feel an immense surge of power flee his grid amidst the severe pangs. A million warning signs went off at once, messages blaring obnoxiously through his mind- making the pain all the more worse.

He could hear the cries of pain escape him, his intense feral shriek echoing throughout the sewers and fading to silence almost instantaneously as his strength left him. His optics sprung widely open, burning redder than they ever had before. The girl was driving the stake deeper with every passing second, the grim expression on her face evidence she would not stop. His pain lended itself to a feral sort of rage- instinct taking over yet again.

The girl was the cause of his pain.

The girl would kill him if he did not stop her first.

The girl had to be destroyed.

He hissed and lunged at her image, clawed fingers poised to rip into her throat to make his pain stop. She would bleed, blood bothered him, but he had no intention of biting her. Still, blood would stain his alloy and he would have to spend a good amount of time cleaning it, a troublesome thing. But it didn't matter. He didn't care. Feral instinct ruled him now; his only concern was stopping the pain, by removing the source.

He lunged with surprising strength, given how little he had left. His entire frame moved, his wings even popping themselves out of his back. He would soar out of the coffin, claws sunk into her delicate little neck and he would snap it, or crush her against the walls. Yes, that would stop her, that would kill her, that would stop the pain.

That was what instinct told him, anyway. But it was wrong.

Instead of colliding with the girl, he fell to the floor pitifully. His wings had refused to open, not enough power for them to prove useful. His claws gripped at the dirty concrete, digging harshly into it as his wound cried out with excruciating vigor. That was a huge mistake, he respected it now.

Another hiss escaped him; his mind still inclined toward acts of a feral nature as his systems struggled to fully reboot. His logic was restoring itself bit by bit, though he regretted that fact, as his mind found it appropriate to chide him for such a foolish action before bothering to test how deep the wounds ran. As the pain diluted briefly he pulled himself up as best he could, taking in his surroundings. His larger optic, encased within a golden monocle, ran a diagnostic scan of the area- and came to a single conclusion:

He was alone.

Little one and Buzz Lightyear were gone. So was the girl.

_Pity._

He very much wanted to get his hands on her, to teach her a lesson. Especially when the diagnostics on the level of his wounds came back.

He had died. Not for a moment before coming back online, he had truly and honestly gone offline. She had killed him.

How he had returned, was thanks to Zurg. An emergency power grid had been installed elsewhere within his body- one that was far weaker than than normal. It got the job done though, geared to activate _only _if he had been terminated. A last ditch effort, to give him enough power for one final attack..presumably against Lightyear.

That it was on now told him enough. It was his only source of power. The girl had drained his others completely dry.

His optics whirred as his gaze drifted to his chest, observing the wound for himself. It was bad alright. The energy stake still stuck in his chest, while a blue liquid trickled out of the damaged wires and onto the floor.

He snarled at the thought of her. That little wretch! That she, a mere _child_ should have killed him...it was unacceptable! He was one of the most respected villains in the universe...And to think he had met any end by a gutter rat, a nobody. It was sickening!

His claws scraped the ground again, wishing that she had been there. Snapping that tiny neck of hers would have reaped him immense satisfaction.

But revenge could come later. For now, he would have to satisfy himself with simply surviving. The emergency energy would not last him long, nor was it supposed to. He had only enough power to make one final strike. Or, to feed on something weak.

He would feed. It would give him enough energy to feed again, and little by little he could restore his own power grid. Providing he removed the nuisance first.

Another hiss. This would hurt, and he damn well knew it.

Gingerly, he clutched the stake- first with one hand, then the other. He considered it for a moment, before he pulled it out with one swift lurch.

He screamed again, the pain absolutely unbearable. More fluid leaked from the wound, and only fluid. There was no energy in that area, nothing to produce sparks. He clutched the area, the gaping wound screaming out. The removal of the object made things even worse, the energy would run out faster. But to leave it in would be a mistake just as great.

His optics burned again, scanners running to find prey. He needed to feed. Anger still burned for the girl, he wanted revenge, he would have it some day...But he would wait. Feeding was more important now, he needed it. If he did not feed, he would die. Then she would win, again.

He could not allow that.

He growled, hunger ripping him apart nearly as much as the pain. He was insatiable, he knew constant hunger...but this was different. He was more desperate this time, the hunger was greater than he had ever known. How quickly he fed made the difference between life and death. He cast logic and rationale aside as the diagnostics came back, finding prey within the vicinity and surveyed the surroundings, noting he would have to climb. His wings were useless at this point, until he obtained more energy. A trying, painful task this hunt would be...But he would do whatever it took. He would survive. He had to.

Defeat was unacceptable.


	2. Black house will rock

Annnnd this beast is for Savy! It was kind of a followup to the first one, haha. STILL OLLLD, PROBABLY STILL CANON-KILLING IN SOME WAY.. /endscapsattack.

Also, sorry, but given I am a huge fan of the lost boys...chapters may wind up being named after lyrics of songs that were in the movie, and other stuff like that. .;

oh right, so much stuff in this goes against canon. I know they wouldn't have left him down there, as I said in the one before this, but I'm too lazy to edit this for logic haha. this is also a bit longer than the last one.

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><p>Savy wasn't sure what had compelled her to take this long walk; what nagging little voice has insisted she revisit the very place she'd shown her worth. There had <em>almost <em>been a reason in the beginning of the journey, but whatever it was...It was gone now, it had faded.

Whatever planning or forethought had gone into this little venture was nonexistent now; the twelve-year old was grasping at straws to even remember anything she'd done or said in the past hour. It was if she'd been in a trance, simply along for the ride and carried wherever her feet dared take her. It seemed like a disturbing notion, but it didn't bother Savy all that much. It was expected, really. Planning was not exactly her area of expertise, and if anything surprised her it was the fact she'd even _had_ a ploy in the first place.

Aimlessly wandering was something that happened sometimes. She had done it much more in her younger years before those saints of robots had adopted her- though, this was the first time in a while Savy had simply..taken a walk. Normally, there wasn't all-too-much on her mind when she did.

This time, however, things were different. There was quite a lot on her mind; a decision that felt monumental weighing on her shoulders. Perhaps she had taken the walk in an attempt to get her mind off of the matter, to have a moment's peace from the issue before she had to make up her mind.

If that had been the reasoning behind it all, then she had failed abysmally. The thoughts hadn't left her mind for so much as a nano-second, and so caught up in them, she'd wandered into the sewers. Right through the various systems to where she'd made her first, and thus far only, kill.

Savy hadn't been looking to end up here, she could barely remember even entering the sewers. It seemed odd, of course. She wasn't blind, or stupid or anything. Generally, her old haunts were as familiar as the back of her hand and she was able to navigate to, through, and from them in a state like this. But she'd never been in this neck of the sewers before that night several weeks ago, nor had she ever intended to crawl down them again. There was simply no real reason to.

Yet, here she was.

This was where _it _had happened- the thing that had spun her on this unexpected course. The thing which had led to the question she still had to answer, and all the pressure that came with it.

The spunky preteen sighed as she found herself climbing down the walls, down to the pit of the vampire's old lair. At a time, it had been a terrifying place. She would have behaved a lot differently-had her plazooka or energy absorption field generator on her. But not this time. Not anymore, they were useless. He was dead now, wasn't he? That meant this place was a graveyard...A true one.

And how fitting that she had laid him to rest in that ship of his-shaped like a coffin that now acted as one. Star Command had left it there, closing it with a weak, half-hearted seal. Even the seasoned rangers knew the vampire was dead. There was no need to bring him back, no need to attempt and prevent looters or robotic vigilantes from desecrating his corpse. That was what he deserved, after all. He deserved to die, deserved to have his limbs ripped off, to be cannibalized just as he had terrorized and torn apart any robot he got his disgusting hands on.

It gave Savy nothing short of an immense amount of pride to know that she had been the one to put him offline. That _she _had saved other robots from becoming a future meal. Buzz Lightyear had helped, of course. That was what he did, he was a hero. But in the end, she had made the final blow and it had made her life all the better.

Perhaps she owed the vampire a half-assed 'thanks you jerk', for putting her in the position she was currently at. Had she never had reason to chase after him, had she never driven the stake through his randometer and power grid, she never would have wound up with this sort of offer. But even so, Savy still hated him; everything he'd done, everything he was. She was glad he was dead. Her only regret had been how fast the entire thing had gone. Pleasing as it was, he hadn't suffered. At least, not the way she thought he should have.

But Savy had grown to accept disappointments in life. She of all people knew you didn't always get what you really wanted. It had all worked out fine in the end, anyway. Except for one thing- the choice.

Apparently, she had made quite an impression on some people over at Star command. She was still too young for the Ranger academy, of course...There were several years to go before she could even think of enrolling. And goodness knew the junior space rangers were nothing but boy and girl scouts; their activities all too tame, mundane, and downright ridiculous for a girl like her. Yet, they wanted to keep an eye on her. They wanted Savy to enroll in the academy when she was old enough; wanted her to get her life back on track, to be able to pursue justice like she had against the energy vampire...Just, more according to the law. Buzz had put in a good word for her after seeing her in action. Of course he had touched on her immaturity a bit; an honest boyscout until the very end.

He hadn't hurt her chances, however. Captain Nebula had seemed to like her brand of spunk, if his compliment was anything to go by. He had even made the suggestion to keep an eye on her, remarking how disappointed he would be if he didn't find her enrolled in the academy in the next few years.

Normally, that sort of thing didn't suit her. Or so she told herself. Maybe she did really secretly or not so secretly want this. After all, she had eagerly grasped at the first chance to join up after Buzz had helped her take down Nos4-a2. She had felt..indebted to him, really, after all he'd done for and put up with from her. And now she owed him something else. An answer, for the great opportunity he had presented her. Savy was compelled to sigh again. It should have been an easy thing to answer, but it wasn't.

Savy and her parents had been invited to pack up and move to Capital City- where many junior space rangers and their families, and rangers themselves, lived. On Capital planet, which was always under the watchful eye of Star Command. Star Command was even willing to help them out, under the pretenses that she had 'saved' the lives of two rangers, and quite possibly Tradeworld itself. Really, they wanted to help her- something rangers did- but there had to be a reason...for the political side of things, she supposed.

It was a tempting offer. The help would place her and her adoptive parents in a much nicer city, a much nicer sector. Without all the seedy characters and crime that constantly left a black mark on Tradeworld. They could help her robotic parents get a job that paid well, and activities with the Junior Rangers would allow her to make at least -some- monetary gain on the side. She and her robotic parents had no real ship, no real mode of transportation themselves...so it required the Ranger's help to move everything. All in all, it seemed like the best choice- though her parents had left it up to her, entirely content to do whatever their adopted daughter thought best. All Star command asked was for them to leave Tradeworld behind.

It asked her to leave her entire life behind in the process.

Her conditions hadn't always been the best, but they were what she knew. Tradeworld was her home; she knew every nook and cranny of the city like a seasoned pro. It was where she had learned how to take care of herself.

..If she left it behind, her street smarts would cease to be of any importance. They would get her nowhere fast in the shining, law-abiding beacon of planets that was Captial planet..and certainly not very far within Star Command if she ever hoped to be a ranger. But it was all she knew. It was difficult to consider leaving every strength of hers behind. They asked her to be and become an entirely different person, and Savy wasn't sure if it was the best thing in the world for her.

...Still, it might be a good thing for her parents. Sure, she loathed the thought of becoming everything she wasn't, but at the end of the day, so long as her parents were online Savy could make it through whatever. Without them, she was lost, bitter, and jaded. She could survive on the streets if she wanted, but what she really wanted was a family. Tradeworld was not a good place for families.

She had almost lost them here, anyway.

" Thanks for upsetting everything."

Savy found it hard to dwell on both sides of the argument; it was difficult for her weigh the pros and cons and remain indecisive because of them. She preferred to linger on one side and one side only, and push ahead full-throttle with it. Her mind was starting to become uncertain again, dwelling on every little part of her that would be affected by this huge leap. Bothered by the pressure mounting, she could only do the one thing she knew would relieve that stress- blame it on somebody else.

She kicked the coffin-shaped transport device, finding it a rather soothing activity in comparison to making a choice that would impact the rest of her life in one way or another. Savy kicked it again and again, taking a meager amount of pleasure in the action. It wouldn't solve her problems, and he was dead anyway- but still, it helped momentarily.

The twelve-year old stopped only when she had broken the coffin's seal, causing the lid to pop back open- something that perturbed her a bit, but only because it seemed...weaker than expected. Star Command had closed it enough to keep a child like her from getting into it, not sure what sort of contraptions the vampire had built into it. Strong as she might be, Savy knew it was unlikely the seal had given in to her power and hers alone.

Somebody had been here.

They had closed the coffin's lid, when all was said and done, but had gotten at least some revenge. The fine lining of the top of the coffin had been slashed apart, as if done by some crazed animal- or more likely, a furious vigilante like herself.

Savy smirked at the thought, comforted that not everybody had turned a blind eye to the vampire's robotic assaults. And that somebody had taken the time to track him down, obviously claiming their revenge on his personal property. It made her morbidly curious what had become of his body- if whoever had done this bothered to leave any pieces at all.

Intrigued, Savy inched closer, leaning over the side of the coffin to get a better look at the vampire's corpse; her dark imagination running through multiple scenarios on how it might have been desecrated or looted for parts. What she found, was hardly expected, if the gasp of surprise was anything to go by.

"...You can't be serious."

Disbelieving as the statement was, Savy's voice carried a grimly serious tone.

He was gone.

Not looted, not desecrated, not so much as a single spare part or torn wire was left behind. Her mind wanted to believe somebody had simply stolen the entire body, but Savy knew better. The clues pointed elsewhere. The slash marks on other sides of the coffin ship, the dried remnants of cervo fluid where she had struck him that trailed over one side of the coffin, and onto the floor.

Savy jumped back as she made that discovery. The fluid was the robot equivalent of blood, and only Nos-4-a2 had been struck within his coffin. That left only one, terrible revelation. He had managed to survive.

Her eyes darted the shadows, suspecting the creature lurked in every single one of them- as if he had been there the entire time, patiently waiting weeks for her to return and make that discovery before he claimed revenge.

But there was nothing. It was dead silent; no hissing, no robotic gears moving about as a robot shifted. No fresh cervo fluid- just the stains of it..Leading out of the coffin, onto the floor, and scaling over a wall until she could see no more- just one of the sewer entrances. In a discarded pile of robot parts that rusted over in the corner of the room- the results of Buzz unfortunately having to destroy some of the vampire's robot minions before they could kill him- lay a familiar object.

Even from a distance, Savy recognized it. It was her energy absorption field, what she had used to 'kill' Nos-4-a2. Mustering enough courage to move, Savy slowly wandered over, digging through the parts, respectfully so, until she pulled the stake out. The tip was covered in dry cervo fluid. It no longer crackled with energy, as there was nothing to absorb nearby- but it was still attached to something...A randometer. The vampire had ripped it out of his own chest, just to get the stake out of his body

Savy stared at it for a good several minutes, reconsidering how she felt on many levels. It seemed she had underestimated the vampire. And now he had escaped...She could only hope he had crawled off to die somewhere in solitude, but her instincts told her better. No, he was alive. Probably feeding. Most robots were built with emergency power supplied somewhere...If she hadn't managed to dent that area at all, and the absorption field had been content with just the randometer..it could have kicked in. Offering a minor amount of power, not a lot, but enough for him to go drain a weak robot.

And then from there another, and another..

"..This can't be happening. Not again."

Savy's thoughts immediately drifted back to her parents. What if he found them again? What if he wanted revenge so badly, he'd been stalking her? Trying to find out her files? What if he ever found out she had robots for parents?

Her hands began to shake at the very thought. Oh, this was terrible. She should have made sure he was dead...She should have come back much sooner, she shouldn't have given him any time at all to recover. She should have considered the possibility that things would go wrong. They always seemed to for her!

She pushed aside all hesitations, all thoughts of love and familiarity for Tradeworld. Everything it had given it, everything it had to offer...fell by the wayside, immediately.

She couldn't lose her parents again. No, she couldn't let it happen. She wouldn't stand by and watch helplessly this time. She'd do what she had to in order to keep them safe; in order to put as much distance between them and the robot vampire as was possible.

She'd accept the offer. They'd move to Capital planet. And if that vampire ever showed his ugly face again, Savy silently promised herself that she would be sure to put him down once more. _ Permanently._


	3. That scream I hear

Attempt at conflict, with more things that make no sense, mwuahah! Yeah I'm kind of going overboard on how much I'm uploading today.

THIIIS... I don't even know. Yes, apparently Nos knows he kinda killed Savy's parents in this. And..lool oh don't even ask, I'm so scatterbrained I hardly know what I'm writing half the time.

:[ there are at least 2 more CONFLICT WITH SAVY oneshots I have to dig up. Be afraid, very afraid.

"Hmmm. Nice upgrades NOS-4-A2."

"Well, aren't _we _observant?"

The semblance of disappointment behind the comment made her smirk. Seeing him online again was a bit of a rigid shock, but Savy sure as hell wasn't going to let him know that. Besides, she wasn't fooled. The energy vampire thought he could con everybody into believing he had brought himself back from beyond the grave. Not from her attack, but that fateful explosion on Zurg's planet. Oh yes, Savy had heard about the wirewolf fiasco. While she'd been disappointed Buzz hadn't called on her 'expertise', Savy had somehow managed to live. Nos-4-a2's 'untimely' death had promoted quite a celebration back on Star Command.

Ty, Xl, and Xr- mostly Xr- were probably going to panic if she told them what she'd found here on Canis Lunus.

He had returned to the scene of previous crimes, not necessarily an unexpected thing in itself. When predators got a satisfying kill, they often stalked the same area in anticipation of another. Why should an energy vampire, or any villain for that matter, behave differently? It was all textbook, wasn't it? The criminal _always_ returned.

In Nos-4-a2's case, it seemed the criminal returned virtually unscathed, like a ghost seeking his revenge. To the untrained or common eye, he appeared exactly as he had many years ago. It was a convincing enough ruse to make one nervously wonder what he'd been doing for the past several years...but not Savy. She didn't have to wonder, given the solution was painfully obvious to her.

If there was one thing she knew best, it was robots. No robot survived an explosion the likes of which Buzz and XR had described. Bits and pieces of the robot, yes. The body itself, no. It would have been far beyond simple repairs. The rookie assumed what had survived were interior bits- pieces of his motherboard and inner workings. If they were in good enough condition, it was entirely possible to salvage them and bring the robot back online. But in a new body, which was exactly what he had.

Some people would have called her crazy, but Savy had an eye for robotic detail and a strong memory to boot. Before shoving the stake into him, Savy had gotten a good look at Nos-4-a2. Some things were different now- minorly so- but she could still make them out. Particularly the added thickness. A subtle, but noticeable extra layer of sturdy alloy had been stacked on top of his power grid- the exact area she'd run him through years before. It was almost touching he recalled her that much.

"Looks like I sure made an impression on you." Savy laughed. Her tone was derisive and bitter. She never had gotten the chance to fulfill her promise. Her vow had been to slay him herself, not put him in a weakened state until the parasite gathered enough energy to slink away and force somebody else to finish the job.

The vampire scowled, gingerly brushing his power grid with a clawed hand. He even went so far as to alter his position, as if her pointed staring was enough to bring harm to the new alloy.

"Indeed you did."

He was less than amused by her little quip, as his reply came in a mangled version of a dull tone. Savy could see he was attempting to pass himself off as bored and unaffected by her remarks, but it didn't work. She could hear the intensity he was trying- and failing- to hide.

Good, she _wanted_ to affect him. Like he had her.

The few days of suffering she'd endured could never compare to what Nos-4-a2 had done to Ty Parsec, and Savy completely understood this. But what he had done had still been enough. She could put up all the barriers in the world, even pass herself off as the biggest badass this side of the galaxy. But she'd be lying through her teeth if she said he had never affected her enough to cause the occasional nightmare. Her parents had been saved and brought back online, but for a good number of days they really had been dead. No child should have had to witness such a grisly sight, even on Tradeworld. And no child escaped something like that entirely unscathed.

"It's the least I could have done, after what you did."

It was very hard for Savy to control herself while he reacted in a mock-confused fashion; stroking his chin thoughtfully, as if he had to sort through millions of more important memory files to recall why she'd chased after him in the first place seven years ago.

"Oh yes, _I_ remember!"

Even now Savy was uncertain whether he was taunting her or not. However, his voices fluctuated with a distinctly jeering undertone.

"How are mummy and daddy? I would so love to have them over for another.._bite_! Ahaha!"

His fangs had swirled in place, crackling with electricity. Savy suppressed a colorful outburst by biting her lower lip, one twitch of the finger away from blasting him. Her anger was making her dizzy; clouding her mind with a million signals that screamed at her to just shoot the damn vampire. Buzz's logic was the only nagging voice of reason; the only thing that broke through them all and held her back. Patience, planning, they were vital to any truly successful mission, and she would do best to keep that in mind.

She had to be careful about this. Savy knew Nos-4-a2 had a new body, but she couldn't say what it or he were capable of. One wrong move would spell disaster.

Nice and logical as that sounded though, Savy loathed to stand idly in place for too long while her enemy was still perfectly functional. He knew how to poke and prod at her anger and fears. It wasn't that he was powerful enough to read her mind, she was just transparent- something Savy had accepted; she didn't necessarily care about being a subtle person. Yet, it wouldn't do her or Star Command any good to rush in blindly.

"Don't talk about my parents you _freak_."

It was the calmest answer Savy could give. All others required far more offensive slang and ended with shooting the energy vampire in his exceptionally large mouth. Her weapon was energy-based though. Shoot him in any other areas, and it would hurt- but a direct blast to the area he used to feed? Savy wasn't sure of the results, so she wouldn't take that needless risk. At the very least, she was mindful enough not to give him any additional energy to work with. The weaker he was, the easier her job became.

Though, Nos-4-a2 had absolutely no intention of making this a simple task. He very much wanted to survive this encounter as well, and naturally he wasn't going to turn his back on her in order to give her the same kind of opening she'd used to defeat him once. Not when he'd taken the time to protect himself against the possibility of another stake to his powergrid.

Savy's snippy comments had turned a forcibly stale expression into a malicious one. Nos-4-a2 had seen a vulnerable point, and like any good predator or villain, he intended to attack it as viciously he could.

"Aren't you curious at all, _ranger_ sl-2?"

Savy glowered in response, knowing very well he had paused on purpose, to allow his sarcasm to be evident. Just the way he emphasized the simple word said it all. He was implying that she would never really be a ranger and that, to him, the very word was laughable when placed before her name. In his dripping sarcasm Savy heard the words 'street punk' and 'gutter rat'; disrespectful social connotations not a source of any of the glamor that usually came with the title of space ranger. Savy knew he placed her far beneath him, which only further ignited her fury. At the same time, the memory of what she'd done to him kept her grounded, along with Buzz's many lectures. For the moment, at least.

Nos-4-a2 was humiliated by what she had managed as a twelve-year-old, and Savy knew it. Most of this disdain and need to tear her confidence away was borne in great part by their initial encounter, which Savy suspected Nos-4-a2 had _never_ been able to accept. That was why he was so determined to wind her up, Savy told herself.

He hadn't and wouldn't strike yet- not until she'd made the first move or he had unleashed years worth of pent-up bitterness. For what she had done to him, he likely wanted her to suffer. The both of them knew physical torment wasn't the way to get to her, it was just the way to finish the job. It was her mental and emotional well-being that had to be attacked first; at least, the parts of her that existed in such ironically fragile states. Nos-4-a2 was working to tear down those walls she built up the best he knew how, ready to lash out wherever she was at her weakest. Try as hard as she might, Savy was starting to slip. He was starting to get in, and she had a gut feeling that whatever he was going to say next was going to fracture, rather than dent, her willful barriers.

She was right.

"Which one of them lasted the longest? How much they struggled? _How easy it was to take them offline_?"

The more he asked, the more wickedly excited Nos-4-a2 became. His voices raised in volume and pitch; any pretenses of class fading away in a kind of sadistic, animal-like frenzy. A sense of enjoyment became obvious, but there also lurked twinges of desperation, impatience, and many years worth of fantasizing about her and all his other enemies unraveling.

Savy could see that he was hovering closer. His motive behind that just as transparent as her weaknesses. He would get too close for her to fire safely, all while trying to get her to snap. And once he was close enough, he would strike deadly and swiftly. But probably not lethally, unless she'd suffered enough at that point. Savy wasn't so sure it had even gotten close to being enough.

What pain she had put him through- though she was entirely justified in doing so- probably had been horrendous. The absorption field generator was a blunt object, not sharp like a blade or even made with that purpose in mind. It was more painful than a jagged end, and twice as slow. Obviously, she had exerted enough effort to put him inches away from death, meaning that however long he suffered in the process of healing from that wound was also attributed to her.

Even to a creature like him, the pain following the attack would have been unbearable. A power grid was vital for optimum performance, and Savy had felt the stake go all the way through his old one. Thus, he wouldn't be happy with a quick end. It couldn't be anything misunderstood as a fluke. It had to satiate his lust for vengeance. His words were only one part of the equation, but just as necessary as the violence that would soon come. Savy hated to admit it, but Nos-4-a2 was deviously clever. It was more than just taunting.

The energy vampire was spewing these questions maniacally, trying to place horrifying mental images in her head. He knew where her fears lay, so he worked hard to coax the brutal images to form- leaving her own dark mind to craft the more intimate details for him. They would frighten, crush, and anger her...But more importantly, they would distract and keep her mind elsewhere. Savy was not necessarily a mental adversary- physical brutality was more the area she shone. However, she had a dangerous amount of intricate knowledge on robots and how they worked, and should she combine the two skills- certainly, she could find a way to put him offline for good. He couldn't allow it. It was why, Savy knew, he was employing this cruel tactic. It, and his quest for revenge were why he was so determined to strip her of any power or advantage she held over him- by blinding her with her own foul temper.

Savy began to back up as he nearly came close enough to strike, even though she had a hunch it was playing into some kind of trap. Through this action Savy intended to make it difficult for him to keep out of her weapon's range of fire, but at the same time it showed him his provocation was working. It was a sign of weakness, and she despised being forced into showing it at all.

Nos-4-a2's fangs whirred in place again, pulsating with even more energy. All of this was geared toward creating the illusion he was reliving the taste of her parents. Savy's common sense told her it was unlikely that he really remembered what their energy 'tasted' like, but common sense often fell by the wayside in moments like these.

Those robots were her parents.

Not her blood parents, sure, but they had been real enough. Instead of abandoning her they took her in, loved her, and made her feel like part of a secure, stable family. And here he was, gloating about the time he had murdered them and devoured their energy, like it was something worth praise or simply a frivolous game to him. It was disgusting.

"One bite," Nos-4-a2 prodded further. " They were weak; barely fit for a snack. Star command must have done quite a recharge to bring back what had nothing left."

Savy felt herself quivering with rage at this point, and subtlety was already a near impossible task for her. The energy vampire took notice, his grin becoming manic and his thirst for revenge growing stronger; encouraged by the signs he was ripping her sore spot right open.

"Perhaps when I'm the neighborhood again, I'll stop by, see for myself."

To emphasize his point, Nos-4-A2 traced both fangs with his robotic tongue.


	4. Blind boys don't lie

Moar conflict and dramaz with them. Haha, not much different from the last, except more NOS-y, I guess? Also, don't listen to any mean things said about Zurg or others. NOS is a jerk, he can't be taken seriously with his ego! Totally also unfinished and half-arsed. This is also not within the same 'universe' as my last. I'm not really consistent, I just write whatever lol.

He was lucky that Zurg was an idiot with an incessant need to crawl back to previously-failed projects. The evil emperor should have known better than to put his scattered pieces back together; should have known that salvaging what of his previous motherboard existed instead of creating a brand new one would only come back to haunt him. Zurg hadn't even bothered with a mechanism to force his respect or loyalty!

Though, NOS-4-A2 supposed he should offer his father -some- gratitude. Zurg had brought him back online from certain death, and had him fixed up rather nicely at that. Of course there had been restraints and precautions at first. Zurg had not _entirely_ forgotten the energy vampire's threats against his life. But, how far he'd gotten in his last, devious little ploy had intrigued his creator.

As Nos had discovered, Zurg had forced the grubs to rebuild him a rather long time ago. Yet, the damage he'd wrought on his father's beloved little citadel had still been fresh wounds. Thus, they'd left him to gather dust in a room full of failed or 'in-progress' projects..In case of desperation.

After about 7 years, desperation had reared its ugly head. Zurg had assumed that the energy vampire would not retain much memory, or that the less-desirable traits of his personality would have faded. Half of his motherboard had been destroyed in the explosion, but luckily enough for him- the half that managed to survive was the portion that retained memories, personality, and where he tucked away all his devious little goals.

What he had lost were important functions though, necessary for resuming optimum power levels. Hated it as much as he had, NOS had been forced to play the part of a dutiful servant; playing along as what daddy dearest had always wanted him to be. It had been the only way to gain Zurg's confidence enough to have the rest of his motherboard and new body fixed. It had taken nearly a week of kissing up to get his wings reinstated, and another to reintroduce the complete powers of his mastery over energy. Zurg had at least taken enough precaution to lessen his creation's functions- making him unable to enslave any machine he bit- just in case.

...But, as NOS-4-A2 knew from experience, any clever things Zurg had done were easily overturned by a mind as brilliant and devious as his. It had put him in places and duties he despised, but he had fooled Zurg into giving him everything he had once had. Plus a little more.

And then, when he had taken everything he wished to- NOS had betrayed his master yet again.

The energy vampire had resumed duties as normal, sustaining himself through the power of other mechanical beings, all while plotting the downfall of those who had managed to put him offline. Defeat was a bitter taste that didn't sit well with him. It was detestable, requiring immediate correction. In this case, revenge.

The list was fairly narrowed. XR and XL were at the top, predominately because he very much intended to consume them. The thought of draining every last bit of energy from those traitorous robots was a pleasing one; often causing him to lick his lips in anticipation of the event. XR's taste he knew, and he would surely savor it- for the final time.

Then there was Buzz Lightyear, that obnoxious do-gooder who always had to interrupt and ruin every single one of his brilliant plans. A constant thorn in his side, spewing horrendously annoying heroic nonsense. He had to be destroyed. It was part of his initial programming anyway.

And then...Ranger Parsec. NOS-4-A2 hissed at the very thought of that man. He was the one responsible for his death in the first place. Twice now he had lost control of Ty, even under the influence of the transformation. His plan had been absolutely perfect, and then...that blasted wirewolf had the gall to disobey and destroy him. Ty was a very special case indeed, one who had earned utter contempt from the energy vampire. Perhaps it would be wise to drain ranger parsec of every last bit of energy left in the wirewolf's body..._If _the transformation could somehow be encouraged again. If not, NOS-4-A2 would see to the man's untimely demise. He was useless, if there was no obedience. And for his death, ranger Parsec had to pay in turn. It didn't matter to NOS-4-A2 that, in reality, he had sown the seeds for his own destruction. He would never blame himself; failure was always the result of a fluke- the fault of somebody else, his enemies. Never him.

TY and Buzz weren't the only humans responsible for leading to his downfall, though. There was one other, another ghost from his past life- one that was standing only a few feet away leering at him, no less. NOS had never bothered to find out who she was, too busy with other matters. The now-adult slayer had been but a minor concern amongst many. She was easy to cast aside following the one incident, simply because unlike the others- they'd only had _one_ ill-fated encounter.

But he hadn't forgotten what she had done. The mere sight of her had caused an uncontrollable reaction; one of his hands had covered the area where she had driven a makeshift 'stake' through his old body. The spot twinged, even though it was the old frame that had endured the wound and not this one. He could_ still_ feel the energy stake driving through his randometer.

She was easy to recognize. True, she was an adult now. The fact she was taller was perturbing. She had managed quite the nasty blow as a child- and that was when she had only been half his size. But, beyond the obvious physical ways, she hadn't changed much. If she worked for Star Command, then the punk had traded in a uniform for the same, grungy type of street outfit she had worn so many years ago. Once a city rat, _always_ a city rat.

Savy regarded him with a mixture of emotions- disgust and surprise the most prevalent. Ah yes, she had believed for years that her blow had been the one to kill him. Or, maybe she -had- heard about his final ploy and simply was surprised to see he'd pulled himself together after having exploded. He couldn't say he was exactly thrilled to see her either. Maybe she hadn't truly killed him, but Savy had led him down a dark path. Her attempts had been only a fraction away from proving successful. As much as losing control of the original wirewolf stung at his pride, having to admit a little girl had just about put him offline for good- well, it was worse. At least the wirewolf was more of an experiment than anything. Having a child destroy you implied you weren't a very powerful villain.

"Well, it looks like I get the pleasure of slaying you once again."

Savy's words grated on his very last nerve. Her comment was an enigma; sarcastic and sincere at the same time. Of course she would have preferred him dead, and quite frankly he felt the same way about her. But, the opportunity to destroy him again seemed to invoke at least a minor amount of excitement from the woman- while it tested the limits of his finite patience. Still, it was a wonderful opportunity for revenge. Without Buzz interfering. If he dealt with her, then he'd never have to worry about what level of threat she possessed ever again. He'd pick those he owed off- one by one. He really couldn't afford a Van Helsing traipsing about after him.

"_You._"

It wasn't the most intelligent reply, he knew. But outer monologuing never had proven the best idea. Inner monologuing, however, was another story entirely. While Savy shot him one disgusted, overly-confident look after another, he was carefully plotting out her demise. Underestimating his adversary was an easy thing to be lulled into, though he refused to be caught in that trap for very long. He had to be careful about this- unlike Buzz Lightyear, Savy was no boyscout. She had been willing to put other people in harm's way just to get a shot at him as a child. Maturity did not always come with age, and if her appearance was anything to go by he could not count on her making the same, foolish mistakes Lightyear often did in pursuit of heroic nonsense.

He didn't really like dangerous adversaries. Challenges were not well-received, especially if they stood in his way for one reason or another.

"This time, I'm not going to make the same mistake. I'm going to make sure you're offline for good. "

She hadn't stopped talking since the second they'd spotted one another. NOS-4-A2 had simply filtered the conversation; tuning most of her cocky babbling out. He was more interested in the illegal firearm she insisted in carrying with her- crimson optics nearly glued on it in anticipation of an attack. It was unlike her to wait this long to strike, but then again, he supposed the context of their situation was different this time. Savy would still attempt to slay him, but do so slowly and painfully..So she could relish the victory. Apparently, having learned he was still functioning made her previous triumph a stale, meaningless one.

He laughed at the very thought. The same, sadistic glee she took in her own ploys for revenge were amusing. He would have used it as mockery, had she held the same ridiculous beliefs as Buzz.

"If you could not accomplish it then, what makes you think you're capable of it now?"

Savy flinched at the comment, angrily. As he recalled, she was ruled by negative emotions in the heat of the moment. A bit too impulsive, and he'd almost had the chance to take care of her back on Tradeworld. It seemed within reason to remind her of this.

"You almost met your end," he reminded Savy, removing himself from his perch. It was useless now anyway. Any moment, he would need to avoid the inevitable plazooka blast. "If not for Lightyear."

A bitter sentiment. Back then, it hadn't really mattered. Buzz's interference had allowed him to drain the ranger's suit and make away with that morsel XR. He hadn't known that Savy, the wretched little girl she'd been, would follow and ultimately put him so close to death. If he'd known then what he knew now, certainly he wouldn't have let her escape alive. Or unscathed, at the very least. Not like Lightyear would have stood idly by long enough for the girl to have died.

" I suppose we both should have finished what we started," he hissed, uncoiling a pair of red, crimson wings from their hiding spot within his metallic cape. Electricity crackled over them, as he began diverting half of his power source for the offensive. Optics narrowed, he flashed his teeth at her, threateningly. Savy was unimpressed, ignoring the growing theatrics.

"I intend to."


End file.
